Computer shuts itself down

Shadows1990 · 20 Apr 2011 at 20:26

Hi all,

Having a weird problem with my build at the moment.
Since about a week ago, every now and again (up to 4 times in one day!) the screen will just go blank (as if the computer was off), and the computer becomes completely unresponsive. I have tried restarting the computer when it happens, but it doesn't seem to respond to anything. The fans still spin though.
It seems to be completely random, doesn't matter if I'm gaming, or just browsing the web. I've checked temps and they seem fine :confused:

I did have a looksee through the Event Viewer and I get this error everytime it occurs:

Event ID:41

The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

The only thing I can think of, and going by System Restore is that a few Windows Updates were installed prior to this problem occuring.

I've googled, but because it doesn't seem to be related to anything, it's proving useless. The only thing that might make sense is that the PSU is conking out. I'm not sure about this as surely the PC would completely turn off?

Anyone have an idea what I could do to fix it?

Edit: Would probably help if I posted my spec:

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
Samsung P2450H 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black
Asus GeForce GTX 480 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FarCry
MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge
Antec High Current Gamer 750W Quad Rail Power Supply
Antec 100 One Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3)
LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
Akasa AK-FN059 120mm Ultra Quiet Viper Cool Fan

RiskyRix · 20 Apr 2011 at 20:29

could it be a heat problem? Whats your temps?

Silenced · 20 Apr 2011 at 20:29

First things first, what are your specs?

RiskyRix · 20 Apr 2011 at 20:31

Silenced said:
First things first, what are your specs?

he just posted them

Shadows1990 · 20 Apr 2011 at 20:39

RiskyRix said:
could it be a heat problem? Whats your temps?

They seem normal to me, but here they are at the moment (bare in mind that I'm running scans etc at the moment to see if it's something on the hard drive or the drive itself):

Motherboard: Max 32c
CPU: Highest is 35c on a one of the cores
HDD: 28c
GPU: 37c

Shadows1990 · 20 Apr 2011 at 20:46

Just had a thought,

Speedfan is showing quite a few of the checks without the 'OK' symbol beside them. Is there a better piece of software for checking HDD health?

RiskyRix · 20 Apr 2011 at 20:54

well temps seem good maybe a driver issue? did you install or do something different that you dont normally do?

Shadows1990 · 20 Apr 2011 at 20:59

I've recently updated my GPU and sound drivers
I was on 266.58 but I'm now on the latest.
I got the most recent drivers from Realtek for my audio, do you think it could be that?

RiskyRix · 20 Apr 2011 at 21:04

could well be rollback to the older drivers and see if the problem goes away :confused:

RiskyRix · 20 Apr 2011 at 21:05

now im thinking about it if its only your screen that goes black and everything else is still running fine its more than likely a graphics problem

Shadows1990 · 20 Apr 2011 at 21:06

Will do.

I'll report back with my results.
It has only crashed once tonight

RiskyRix said:
now im thinking about it if its only your screen that goes black and everything else is still running fine its more than likely a graphics problem

The entirely system freezes up, which I think is what is killing the video to the monitor. I've tried numerous key shortcuts to try and get some activity when it happens, but it just stays put.

RiskyRix · 20 Apr 2011 at 21:10

Shadows1990 said:
Will do.

I'll report back with my results.
It has only crashed once tonight

The entirely system freezes up, which I think is what is killing the video to the monitor. I've tried numerous key shortcuts to try and get some activity when it happens, but it just stays put.

that is strange try the drivers anyway and see how it goes

RiskyRix · 20 Apr 2011 at 22:29

any luck?

wentalong · 21 Apr 2011 at 01:14

same thing happened woth my 560 Ti, i would be in game aund suddenly the screen goes black, nothin i'd do would make it respond, had to hard re-boot and so i RMA'd the 560 and problems never happened since, btw i did try drivers and rebuilding, maybe try a different GPU?

either way, hope you get the problem sorted soon!

RiskyRix · 21 Apr 2011 at 01:25

in most cases its only the drivers happened to me a few times, really annoying

Shadows1990 · 21 Apr 2011 at 06:37

I tried uninstalling the current GPU and audio drivers last night, but the problem is still there

It does crash more often when I'm playing SHIFT 2, but like I said, the temps are fine on the card when playing. I'm starting to think it might be the card after all

Kaeo · 21 Apr 2011 at 06:43

Had a pretty much identical problem with an old XFX 6600 Black Edition XXX card. Turned out that the drivers on the disk it came with were the only ones it would run stable on 100%. Was just a shame they were about 5 years old and showed(and sometimes didn't show) half the things in the new games..like npcs.

But as I say, exactly the same issue, 99.9% sure it's a drivers compatability issue/card issue. I could play for sometimes 10 hours+ with no problems, then suddenly black screen, restart. Usually playing a game that I'd played 100 times before with a similar card (with no issues).

Edit: That was very old though! I'd suggest trying older drivers (not too old, mind you), and the ones on the software disk it came with until you get a stable set.

Shadows1990 · 21 Apr 2011 at 10:25

Kaeo said:
Had a pretty much identical problem with an old XFX 6600 Black Edition XXX card. Turned out that the drivers on the disk it came with were the only ones it would run stable on 100%. Was just a shame they were about 5 years old and showed(and sometimes didn't show) half the things in the new games..like npcs.

But as I say, exactly the same issue, 99.9% sure it's a drivers compatability issue/card issue. I could play for sometimes 10 hours+ with no problems, then suddenly black screen, restart. Usually playing a game that I'd played 100 times before with a similar card (with no issues).

Edit: That was very old though! I'd suggest trying older drivers (not too old, mind you), and the ones on the software disk it came with until you get a stable set.

Thanks for the advise Kaeo, I'm gonna try a load of different drivers over the weekend to see if that is the case.

Number_25 · 21 Apr 2011 at 10:51

Can I suggest a problem with your PSU?

I once had a PSU that had bit the dust over time and not realised it and my PC restarted constantly.

Shadows1990 · 23 Apr 2011 at 09:47

Thought I would update this thread with my findings.

So, before filing for an RMA on the GPU, I opened up the case as suggested by people in this thread and cleared out the entire system using compressed air.

So, 2 days on, and lots of gaming done without a single restart or hiccup

It looks like it was the usual suspect; dust. :rolleyes:

Thanks all